A cruiser bicycle, also known as a beach cruiser or (formerly) motobike, is a bicycle that usually combines balloon tires, an upright seating posture, a single-speed drivetrain, and straightforward steel construction with expressive styling. Cruisers are popular among casual bicyclists and vacationers because they are very stable and easy to ride, but their heavy weight and balloon tires tend to make them rather slow. Another common feature is their ability to be customized with accessories including fenders, lights and saddle bags. They are designed for use primarily on paved roads, low speeds/distances, and are included in the non-racing/non-touring class and heavyweight or middleweight styles of the road bicycle type.
The bikes, noted for their durability and heavy weight, were the most popular bicycle in the United States from the early 1930s through the 1950s, and have enjoyed renewed popularity since the late 1990s.
Etymology
One of the first uses of the term “cruiser” for motobikes may have been in the WW2 era, by Mead Cycle Co., who sold via mail-order bicycles of the brand names Ranger, Pathfinder and Crusader. The Crusader “Cruiser” model was the high-end men/boy’s bicycle, and included additional features, such as front headlight, rear rack, and most importantly, the motorbike tank. The low-end model, (also described in ads' fine print as a cruiser), was the crusader “chaser,” and the ladies’ the crusader “clipper” and ‘cutter” models to complete the nautical theme in the product naming scheme. Art work of U.S. Navy Cruiser ships were depicted in the Mead Cycle Co. ads.
So "cruiser" may have originated as one model name used by one distributor of the motorbike style of bicycles. The term beach-ranger never really caught on.
In an old catalog from Sears, Roebuck and Company, the Elgin Motor Bike was advertised, and the term motor-bike was explained as follows, "The term "Moto-Bike" has reference only to the type of frame, meaning that it is built on the order of a motorcycle".
History
Development
Schwinn was one of many manufacturers who contributed to the development of the cruiser at a time when U.S. bicycle sales had declined sharply due to the Great Depression; adults purchased few bicycles, which were seen as luxury products intended largely for sport or recreation. In response to other manufacturers' innovations, Schwinn conceived their own sturdy, affordable bicycle designed for the more resilient youth market—originally marketing the Schwinn B-10E Motorbike—which resembled a motorcycle but carried no motor—in 1933. Mr. Schwinn adapted features from the Henderson and Excelsior motorcycles that his (formerly purchased) bankrupt company had built during the 1920s, including a heavy "cantilevered" frame with two top tubes and "balloon" tires from Germany. Schwinn, like others, copied what they saw going on in Europe. Both Sears and Montgomery Ward had bicycles in 1932 that had balloon tires in the USA, a full year before Schwinn. And the streamline movement in bicycles was really pioneered by Sears and Huffman. The resulting bicycles could endure abuse that could damage others.
In 1934, Schwinn successfully re-styled the B-10E, renaming it the Aero Cycle. While the Aero Cycle featured no technical improvements over the original B-10E, its streamlined frame, faux gas tank, and battery-powered headlight came to define the cruiser 'look'. Modern cruiser bicycles retain these design elements, (except sometimes for the tank and/or light accessories). Schwinn is credited with kicking off the balloon tire craze when they introduced their offerings for 1933. By 1954, the balloon tire was tired and on its way out. That's when Schwinn introduced the middleweight. All other manufacturers followed suit in quick succession. The middleweights would last well into the 1970s.
1950s heyday
Cruisers were popular throughout the 1930s and 40s and gained greater postwar success. Their combination of substantial weight (some models weighing over 70 pounds), single speed mechanicals (often New Departure Model D oil coaster hubs), and wide tires (26 × 2.25″ 559) made the bicycles primarily suited to flat terrain. They were popular with paperboys and bicycle couriers.